Project Planning & Performance

PROJECT PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE

Effective planning uses both conceptual and cognitive skills. Good planners are visionaries and persistently question and
probe beyond the day-to-day operations to satisfy their
curiosity and drive their imagination in the direction of how else could something be done. Skills in forecasting, setting objectives, developing strategies and analyzing risks are all utilized.

There are a number of elements necessary to implementing a project and then watching the results come to the conclusion you had envisioned. You've probably heard the saying that proper planning prevents poor performance. Even with the best laid plans, things happen to thwart your efforts. However, taking the advice in these techniques will help increase the odds of success.

Choose projects that are going to be worthwhile. Is spending your time and the efforts and time of others truly going to be worth it? Sometimes people have great ideas, are trying to stay up with or move ahead of competitors, or just jump in on a project because they don't like something else. Before getting too involved, make sure that the skills, capabilities, and materials are lined up and that the idea is needed and realistic.

Once everyone understands the importance of the project, get individuals from all the departments affected involved in order to build enthusiasm and a sense of teamwork. People tend to be more cooperative and draw on their strengths when they are included in the process.

There are always constraints of some sort. These can be the people's workloads and schedules, material and equipment availability, or whether new skills are a requirement. Also, it is natural for there to be different concerns from different areas and individuals. A common sense and understanding of the end goal will help make the progress of the project flow more easily. This will also encourage the participants to be more open if they discover or are concerned about a possible
roadblock or a major problem is encountered.

Keeping people updated on the project or product under development is a good motivator. Morale can be monitored via meetings and status reports as well as the simple system of walking around to observe, offer support, and ask pertinent questions. This is not limited to the management
level. Anyone involved should feel free to check on the status.

Trade-off decisions, changes, and bad news need to be shared quickly and honestly. If this isn't done, errors could increase, deliberate sabotaging of another area could occur, or incomplete or inaccurate data might not be stopped which would lead to additional problems. Be honest and be quick
about it. Sometimes these issues turn out to be very useful as a new combination or better solution could be the result.

Lastly, gather everyone and conduct a post mortem (this is not failure thinking, successful ventures should also be analyzed). This practice helps the organization and the individuals learn from the experiences they all had. Performance during and after the implementation is what will really tell you if the project was worthwhile and has brought a measure of satisfaction to the users and anyone else who reaps the benefits.

(c) 2001 Virginia Reeves This article may be reprinted. Please inform the author via a copy of your publication. To subscribe to her ezine, send a message to: mailto:maillionairemindset@GetResponse.com For more ways to enhance your personal and professional development, talents and skills, check out her website and programs at:
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